Hugh Macdonald backs Rangers board but raises questions over transfer tactics
PLZ Soccer co-host Hugh Macdonald has backed the Rangers board over their financial handling of the club, admitting that Douglas Park and co have been put in a “difficult” position.
Macdonald believes it’s very hard to criticise the board after their balancing of the books but confesses that they have got their transfer tactics wrong in recent years.
The Herald journalist alluded to Ross Wilson’s poor transfers in recent years but never named the man behind Rangers’ market tactics.
“They had to balance the books at one point and they have to look at themselves not only because they are giving in their money all the time that could be described as not great value shares but they got a letter warning from UEFA on the financial fair play so it’s very very difficult to criticise the board,” said Macdonald on the PLZ Soccer podcast. (6 March)
“Yes, they’ve got things wrong, the recruitments been poor, they’ve spent money poorly whatever money they have.
“I’m taking Cantwell and Raskin out of this but what guys have made a real contribution in the last few years, I can’t think of one off the top of my head.”
Market matters.
The transfer market is where leagues and ultimately trophies are won and by upping the club’s recruitment strategy the Rangers board can win back the Ibrox faithful.
January was a strong start to doing so, Cantwell and Raskin are both top players and will undoubtedly play a big role in whatever Michael Beale is trying to achieve.
Nevertheless, to keep up with the ever-progressive Celtic more needs to be done, more areas of the world need to be explored and better transfers need to be made.
This is where Wilson has been utterly diabolical in his approach to incomings at Ibrox and it’s hard to name any of his transfers that have actually paid off.
Investments have been made, evidently when you look at the club’s accounts, but they have been the wrong type of signings and ones who simply should never have been able to wear a Light Blues shirt.
Summer provides the opportunity for the Rangers board to achieve some redemption in this field but another failed transfer window would cause an even bigger uproar in Glasgow.
In other Rangers news, Ross Wilson and Stewart Robertson have nowhere to hide now that their human shield has faltered.